Sewing for the Dolls

I have to be honest--I think I'm in my second childhood.  I guess that's partly what grandchildren are for--right?  Well, since they don't know this blog exists I can spill the beans.  Dolls will be coming for Christmas, and Santa Grandma has been commissioned to help make clothes to go with them. 

The first two finished are for Miss V since she will be with me at Grandma Camp next week.  I'm going green, too, since both of these outfits are made completely from scraps from things I've made this year.  The pajamas on the right are the remnants of a shell I made for myself this summer and the outfit on the left is actually made from scraps from an outfit Miss V got to start school in.  The doll's outfit isn't exactly like V's, but she'll recognize the fabrics, smile, and say something about her doll being dressed like her.  Check out the red buttons with white polka dots on the top.  The picture doesn't do them justice, but they just make the top!

Christmas is Coming!

I really love this time of year.  As a child, it was a really magical time and we looked forward to the entire holiday season.  One of the things I remember was our stocking tradition.  We had one each year, and you could be sure there would be an orange, an apple, candy canes and lifesavers along with other assorted goodies. 

It's one tradition I wanted to bring to my home when we married, and we did have stockings those first years, but nothing fancy. I did get a pair of pearl earrings that first year that I still wear.  When our first daughter was born just a couple of weeks before our fifth  Christmas, there wasn't time to make anything special, but for her second Christmas I found a Vogue stocking pattern that I loved, and have used in the 35+ years since to make stockings for our family. 

When the granddaughters came along, their first stockings were sewn like long johns with the back flap being the opening.  We're retiring the last two of those this year and Kathryn and Elizabeth will get their big girl stockings.  The third one I made recently is special.  My Mom now spends winters with us, and last year I noticed we didn't have a stocking to hang for her.  This year she'll get her very own stocking!  Holiday traditions are indeed wonderful!

Happy Thanksgiving, World!

As I'm waiting for the gluten free/dairy free pumpkin pie to finish baking, and hoping it will be OK made with coconut milk, I started thinking about Thanksgivings we celebrated when I was a kid.  My Dad was an only child, so my Mom's family, which was a large one, just added my Grandparents to the fold and we all celebrated the holiday together.   They weren't the only ones adopted into this huge, extended family.

Thanksgiving was the one time the entire clan got together with the location rotating from year to year, and everyone who could drive the distance came.  The house was filled with aunts and uncles and cousins galore, and since my Mom was an aunt twice before she was born, my cousins ranged from younger than me to older than my Mom.

The weather was unpredictable, at best.  It could be a balmy 70 degree day or it could be snowing.  We had a time or two when it even had to be postponed due to a blizzard.  It was a day we all looked forward to, and the adults in our lives worked to prepare the goodies we considered traditional.  Each family had certain things they always brought, no matter what.  My aunt made the best popcorn balls anywhere.  She had big canisters she used each year to carry them in and we loved to help her bring them in from the car.  My Mom's treat was always fudge, and I mean multiple batches of fudge.  She'd make fudge early and freeze it, and of course once we figured out where it was in the freezer and get into it, she'd have to make more.  I think my chocolate loving Dad probably helped us make it disappear, but he never admitted to it.  Another aunt made the red velvet cake--mouthwatering.  One of my cousins brought a raspberry jello salad with a cream cheese-marshmallow topping.  Having the sweet tooth I still possess, but try to control, you can see what traditions I remember best. :)

Whoever hosted the event got to fix the turkey, or sometimes two.  If it was at your house you got to help clean to get ready for the event, and then Mom would prepare the stuffing and get the bird in the oven in the wee hours of the morning so the 25+ lb bird would be fully cooked for our noon-ish celebration. We had a double oven, so we could fix two or sometimes cook duck or pheasant if someone had been lucky hunting.  If you traveled, you had to come two and a half to three hours to get there.  Most of us were from big families so the car rides were crowded, noisy affairs.  The trunk would be filled with food and suitcases, because we'd usually spend the night.

Kids ran everywhere.  There was usually at least one person your age, although I had the dubious distinction of having boys who fit that category.  My one girl cousin my age lived in California and rarely made it back in November.  As I got older and the gender thing became more of an issue (cooties, you know), I started hanging around the kitchen more with those preparing the food.  Everybody helped.  You could peel potatoes, clean finger vegetables, get tables set or any number of other chores that had to be done.  It was an orchestrated madness that was such a kick to be a part of.  When the turkey was finished and carved, the potatoes mashed, and the gravy made we all gave thanks and then piled our plates high and stuffed ourselves till we could hardly move. 

As we've all grown up, had families of our own, moved across the country and our elders have mostly gone now, those wonderful Thanksgivings are just memories.  My immediate family still gets together to celebrate the holiday and with the grandchildren, our circle has grown.  There's still turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry jelly and green olives, but no fudge or red velvet cake.  The pie is generally sweet potato, although not this year.  I've had to learn to bake gluten free, and every recipe is an adventure when you have to make substitutions for dairy, but we're still thankful on this day of Thanksgiving for our many blessings.  I guess I'd have to say the traditions are evolving, but the spirit remains the same.  Thanks Be to God!

Work Gets In The Way!

This post is a bit of a whine!  Don't read further if that disgusts you.  You've been warned. 

What this weekend was SUPPOSED to be was one where four of us got together and measured each other and made up pant patterns using Connie Crawford's measurement  methods to draft the patterns.  What it turned out to be was one where I got to sew very little and had to work at my job stuff most of the weekend.  Bummer! 

Turns out Maggie has a bulging back disc.  She has to lie down flat until she sees the doctor next week.  Sorry my friend.  Turns out Jane's son was in the hospital.  She couldn't come.  My sister is just learning so she isn't much help with measuring and making patterns yet.  I can't measure myself, and at least half the point was to get to work together to do this.  Bummer!

So what did I do instead?  Real office work.  I will probably appreciate it next week when I am a little ahead of the game, but there's still a big pile on my desk and it just seems endless.  Bummer!

I did sew a little to give myself a reward for working.  Got the binding on some Halloween place mats and put rolled hems on six napkins.  It wasn't my new pants pattern, though.  Bummer!

Labor Day Sewing Retreat, Part 1

I love holiday weekends--especially when I get to stay out of the traffic and crowded restaurants!  Jane and Maggie joined Kris and me for another weekend of sewing, and sew we did!

My first project was to put borders on this Christmas quilt.  It has been sitting around for about ten years stored away for the minute I had an inspiration to finish it.  The reason it never got finished was because I lost one of the four border pieces I'd already cut and I thought surely I'd find it someday--not to be the case.  The original border was cut 5", so I got the idea to cut it in half to use as the binding, then that motivated me to get the rest of the fabric I needed so Miss V could actually sleep under it when she comes for Grandma Camp in December.

This quilt top was probably the third or fourth one I ever pieced.  It consists of 9" nine patch blocks on point with 1" nine-patch blocks making up five of the nine inside.  I saw it in a quilt store and fell in love with it not understanding just what it would take to do it.  I still like it a lot, and I've ordered red/green variegated thread to have it quilted with.  Once it's all done I'll post another picture.

Serging with Polyarn

I recently finished another project--another set of place mats for my Mom.  The fabric was a gift from a friend who had made her husband a quilt out of it and I got the leftovers.  Pretty good leftovers, wouldn't you say?  Thanks, Maggie!

My sister pieced the squares, then I quilted and bound the place mats and serged around the napkins.  Instead of using Wooly Nylon, I had gotten some Polyarn from Superior Threads I wanted to try, and am I ever glad I did.  I used it in both the upper and lower loopers, and regular sewing thread in the right needle.  It is so much easier to change to a rolled hem stitch on my Babylock Imagine Wave serger than it has been on my previous two.  The results are pretty good, too.  I think there will be more Polyarn in my ordering future.

Peasant Dresses and Tops and 3-Piece Lined Patch Pockets

There seems to be a trend with my sewing for the girls lately that leads directly to the peasant dress/top.  Older entries show pictures of a dresses for all three granddaughters made in this style.  I used Kwik Sew 3665 for the little girls and Simplicity 2377 for V.   I liked the fit so much that I decided to use it to make a top for V for school as well.  This is fabric she picked out a year ago that I never made up, and I'm glad I waited.  She absolutely loves the denim capri pants and the top made from fabric she picked out. 

To make the top, I just used the bodice, sleeves, and first section of the dress skirt pattern.  I sewed all but one of the side seams.  I left it open to add the bottom ruffle.  To do this,  I cut two widths of fabric 3.5" wide and sewed them together, serging the seam and one of the long edges for a finished hem.  Then I used my gathering foot on my sewing machine to make a nice, full ruffle.  I attached this to the red fabric at the bottom of the peasant top with my serger, which automatically finished the edge.  Then I sewed and serged the side seam shut.  The last thing done was turning the serged edge at the bottom of the ruffle and sewing it up to finish the hem.

I wanted to do something special to tie the top and pants together, so I decided that the patch pockets I wanted to add to the back needed to have both of the top fabrics included.  I wasn't sure how to do this at first, so I went to my Wild Ginger Child's Play to see what kind of pockets they included.  They have one that is similar to this, but is just one layer.  I wanted a lined pocket so the inside wouldn't catch on little fingers.  I devised my own out of three pieces that works really well. The directions follow.

1. Decide on a size for your pocket.  I made mine 4" squares, and I used 1/2" seam allowances on them.  For each pocket I cut two print  rectangles that were 5" X 4" for the bottom section and one red polka dot rectangle that was 3" X 5" for the top section. 
2. I sewed the one of the print pieces to the 5" side of the polka dot piece, and then sewed the other print piece to the opposite side of the polka dot piece.  Press open the seams. 
3. Turn the pocket so the right sides are together, matching the seam lines on the two sides. 
4. Sew one seam from the folded edge to the bottom.  Press it open and trim triangles off both top and bottom. At this point, two sides of the pocket are open--the other side and the bottom.  
5. You will turn the pocket right side out at the bottom after the second side is sewn, but you want to mark the hem before you sew the second side.  I like to use my machine's longest stitch length (6 mm) to put in basting where a hem is to be turned, so at this point I set up my machine to do this. Through a single layer of fabric, I put a row of basting stitches 1/2" from the bottom edge and press it up so it is easy to turn it after the other seam is finished.  
6. Then I can sew the second seam (using my regular stitch length, and yes, sometimes I forget to change it back), press it open, and trim the triangles from top and bottom.  
7. Turn the pocket to the right side, turn up the bottom hem, and place it on the pants where you want the pockets to appear. 
8. Sew the pocket to the pants.  I like to use an edge stitch foot that has a bar down the center to help me make a consistent edge seam.  I simply move my needle over about 1.5 mm, which gives me a secure pocket seam width. 

Sewing for Myself

When I first started to sew, I was a perfect size 12 pattern and could go to the fabric store, buy a pattern, and sew it up over the weekend to wear to work on Monday.  Of course this was before kids.  I did have to make alterations to pants because I have short legs, and I had to take out at least 4", but there was a line on the pattern I could fold and just take out the amount I needed and be done with it.  That was 35+ years ago, and it doesn't work that way now, unfortunately!  I've become a bit shorter and much rounder, so sewing is much more of a challenge.  Enter two things--patterns that are sized for more realistic bodies and pattern making software.  We've come a long way, baby!

I've tried several programs that let you put in your measurements and get a pattern printed, and keep coming back to Wild Ginger's products.  I have four of the products: the original, Pattern Master Boutique and the sleepwear/undergarment/exercise wear program, Curves, the new Pattern Master Knits, and Child's Play, the program for sewing children's clothing.  I really, really love these programs.  The original learning curve is steep, and because they are updated quarterly you might have to go through the fitting process with a sloper again, but they payback when you get it right is amazing.  There are many style pieces to pick from, so you really do enjoy designing and the best part is the tweaking you can do to accommodate some body areas that don't exactly conform to the standard measurements.  I even use these when I make pants for Miss V--she needs both front and back crotch extensions for shorts and pants to fit her well, and we've hit on the perfect numbers so her shorts, pants and capris fit like they were made for her! :)

A recent find has been the Today's Fit line by Sandra Betzina published by Vogue.  A friend  made one up at the recent retreat and we all tried it on.  I was truly impressed by the fit, even though it was snugger than I liked, I purchased Vogue 1085 and sewed one up for myself and one for my sister, and while we have different body types, it looks great on us both.  I had to make a minor adjustment taking up the center seam of the sleeve (two-piece sleeves) about half an inch on each side to get the fit I wanted in the shoulders, but it will make a great fall top.  As soon as I get around to the finishing touches (hemming and putting the binding on the neck), I'll post a picture.  I've just ordered more of these patterns and will keep you posted as to how grandma body friendly they are.

July Sewing Retreat

I really love to sew for kids, and it's so neat when they get to have a say in what is made.  Miss V and I went to Hancock's recently and she picked out three dress patterns for herself, and a couple for her doll.  When I saw her first choice I immediately knew what fabric I wanted to use, and when I showed it to her she got pretty excited.  I knew we were going to have a hit.  The peasant neckline meant there would be fewer fitting issues.  Usually she's a challenge because she has a size 3 chest and needs a size 6 in length, but with the elastic around the neckline we didn't have to worry about it.  I inserted a generous piece then tried the unhemmed dress on her and was able to pull out the slack to get a really nice fit.  At our July sewing retreat I put in the hem, and when she came to visit the next week I finished everything.  She wore it to our jaunt to her favorite doll store the next week.  The fabric is from www.banberryplace.com and it sewed up beautifully.  Wheat you can't see is the pair of shorts made out of the green fabric underneath the dress--figured she should have matching shorts for school.

More placemats were on the agenda next.  I quilted six for my niece that my sister pieced, then pieced another set to be given as a gift for the holidays.  Got those quilted and they just await the binding, but the binding is made so when I have a little time I can get those finished.

I do have three granddaughters, but it seems like Miss V gets the lion's share of the kid sewing I do.  The other girls have so many hand-me-down clothes that I think they could go a month without a repeat, but nonetheless, it was their turn.

The four fabrics these outfits come from have been in my stash for quite some time.  I don't really remember for sure where they came from, but I really love batiks and just liked the four together.  I had decided who would get which one as the main fabric, but took them to show the girls and I was 100% wrong!  Good thing I did as now they can feel like they've had a chance to pick out stuff like their big sister.  Miss E chose the one with the animals--a future vet?  Miss E picked the starts, suns, moons & comets--a future astronomer?  You never know.

As you can see, the peasant neckline continues.  I actually had this Kwik Sew pattern picked out for the twins way before V picked hers out.  They all turned out so cute, though.  I can't wait to see them in the finished outfits.  When I went to try them on so I could adjust the neckline, I didn't think I'd get Miss E's back.

Our July retreat was attended by two friends and my sister.  My friend, Jane, sewed mostly on knit tops.  I am so glad she did because we all got to try some of them on and discovered some designs that looked pretty good on us.  As a matter of fact, my sister Kristine, friend Maggie and I all bought Vogue 1085 so we could make tops from it.  That will be the next project and I can't wait!

Week of Sewing Shorts

It's fun to pull out a piece of well-aged fabric and finally do something with it.  I think that I've had this for at least three years, and it's another one of those, "Now Why Did I Buy So Much of This?" kind of fabrics, but at least I've now used some of it.

In case it's difficult to see just what I'm talking about, this is a beige linen fabric and embroidered all over it are small pairs of flip flops.  I used this to make Miss V some walking shorts, which are long enough for her to wear to school when it starts back up in about six weeks.  I chose it because this is the first year she's been able to wear the "real deal" flip flops--no more straps across the back to hold them on.  When I told her that's why she got these this year, she got the biggest grin on her face, and I got to enjoy that six-year-old tooth missing on the bottom smile.  She's growing up on us.

I've also made one more pair this week to go under a tiered peasant dress.  I'm working on the dress now and will post pictures of her in it when it's all finished.

Pillow Cases from Leftovers

My sister just finished piecing a quilt for her son.  This is her first big project and it looks great.  (I'll try to get a picture up after it's finished.) After cutting out the two borders, there was a lot of fabric left over.  She asked about matching pillowcases, so while she put on the borders, I whipped up two pillowcases.  I sewed some of them on the machine and finished the seams on the serger.  The inside border was a 3" light fabric that reminded me of a wheat field.  The outside border was about the color the sky gets just before it turns completely dark.  I used the former for the body of the pillowcase and the latter for the cuff.  I decided to put a simple decorative stitch from my machine on the hem, and it looked as great as I thought it would.  The added benefit was that the motion of the stitches really secured the back side of the hem.

Getting Organized

It boggles my mind just how much sewing related stuff I've accumulated over the years--and we're talking over 40 here.  I'm trying to do some sorting and organizing and it is a major task, for sure.  Over the weekend when I was using my serger a lot, I had to climb under a table to get to the threads, and I decided that was just crazy, so I did something about it yesterday--I moved the chest the threads were in so it could be easily accessed--brilliant, right?  It was definitely one of those, "Now why didn't I do this earlier?" moments!

Not only did I move the chest, I decided to organize them and inventory them so I would quit duplicating (or triplicating) what I have.  There are four drawers in the chest, and I now have an inventoried set of wooly nylon, Maxilock and Maxilock Swirls all on a handy dandy spreadsheet.  It's amazing what a little time and energy can do to speed up finding what you need!  I have a great serger thread template in Excel if anyone is interested.

Sewing Retreat Day 2.5

After my last post, I decided I wanted to do something a bit different than work on placemats and napkins, so I cut out a pair of shorts for Miss V.  The fabric is a lightweight stretch denim with lots of fruits and flowers.  I have enough of this in my stash for many, many more pairs of shorts or Capris--not sure what I was thinking when I bought it, but it does look cute in biking shorts.  I used Pattern Master Child's Play v5 to draft the pattern to her measurements I took last weekend.  Can't wait to see her next week to see how they work out.  
Yesterday I pieced and did the binding on ten of these placemats, and also put binding on the ones my sister pieced from an earlier post.  Today I cut and did rolled hems on 14 placemats:  four blue print, six white print and four double-sided frog ones.  The frog mats are actually a project I started many years ago and never finished.  I had the double sided mats completed, but had never finished the napkins.  It is so nice to say that I actually have a project finished!

I hadn't done any rolled hems in years, but I have to say that my serger created all the ones I did today beautifully!  To make the napkins I first cut an 18" square (or two squares if double sided napkins are to be made).  Next I iron them and use a light weight sizing so they have a bit of body.  I then lay them out on my gridded table and use a salad plate upside down to round the corners.  I place the edge of the plate 4" from the corner I'm cutting away in both directions, then use my rotary cutter to cut the corner away.  This makes it much easier to serge a continuous edge around the napkin.

I use a 3 thread rolled edge hemming option with regular serger thread in the left needle, no right needle, and wooly nylon in the looper.  Sometimes, like today, I'll use the heavy wooly nylon in the upper looper as it really gives a nice fill to the hemline.  I start serging just past one of the corners and cut about 1/8" off as I go.  Since sergers really want straight paths, when I get to a curve I sort of push/pull the fabric around making sure I'm still cutting only that 1/8" off.  As I near the beginning spot, I hold out the starting thread tail so the cutter snips it away and make sure that there is a bit of the hem that is double serged before I serge off.  I cut the tail fairly close and then use Fray Block to seal the threads.

Sewing Retreat Day #1

We've been sewing now since about 11:00 a.m.  I've been working on two of the three sets of placemats I have to do.  Right now I'm working on binding two of the sets. I used to hate putting the binding on my quilted projects, but no more.

I make my binding on the bias, and there are many good sites you'll find if you don't know how to cut it.  For these placemats I cut the binding into 2.25" strips, then pieced the strips together, fold and press them, and wrap them in a coil.  My trick is then to put them in a bowl.  The bowl is one of my secrets!  I place it on the floor and let the binding feed up as I need it.

My second trick is using the Marti Michell corner templates on the bias strip ends.  This really helps line them  up when connecting them.

On these placemats I'm sewing the binding to the back.  My third trick is to ALWAYS begin with the larger side on the long edge of the fabric.  If you enlarge the picture, you can see how I've laid the strip down ready to begin sewing.  I leave about 5" unsewn, then start down the side of the placemat.  When I get about a quarter inch away from the corner, I backstitch a few stitches, then raise the presser foot and cut the threads.  I use the fold over and then down methods that is illustrated at  Heather Bailey's site.  Look at steps E, F & G.  http://www.heatherbaileydesign.com/HB_QuiltBinding.pdf  When I get around to the beginning side, I sew a little of it and then leave at least 5" unsewn so I can attach it to the beginning section.

My partners in crime on this retreat are also working on quilt projects.  Maggie has one quilt top done and Kris is working on a rail fence pattern for her son.  More tomorrow.

Memorial Day Sewing Retreat

Since we had so much fun in January at our annual ASG retreat, I decided the Memorial Day weekend would be the perfect time for a mini-retreat here at the house.  I have several unfinished items to do, and of course there's always something new just beyond the horizon.  I think the theme for me will be placemats, though.  I have a set I'm working on for one niece for Christmas, the ones my sister pieced to bind, and another set she pieced for one of her daughters that will be ready to quilt.  I have a graduation quilt for a nephew that's coming along nicely and clothes for the granddaughters.  Should be a fun time.  There were to be four of us, but my friend Jane had a death in her family, so she's out of state.  We'll miss her!  I'll post pictures when I get something done.

Quilting Batiks

The last couple of nights I've been quilting the placemats my sister pieced to take home with her.  She hasn't done much sewing before, and it's been fun to watch her catch the bug.  She picked batiks for her first project, and the mats are coming out beautifully. 

After she got them pieced, it was my turn to do the quilting.  I really enjoy machine quilting small projects.  I most often do a meandering stipple type stitch, and that's what I chose for her placemats.  When we started to discuss the different types of threads available, she was really interested in variegated threads.  Since my favorite type of thread to quilt with is Superior's King Tut, we visited a friend who has quite a collection and auditioned various threads for the job.

We finally decided on color 901, which has green, fuchsia, yellow and orchid colors running throughout it.  I've taken a couple of closeups, and if you click on the pictures of the small pieces of fabric you can better see how the different colors make the fabric really pop.  The binding will have to wait for a bit, but it's nice to have this much finished.

Laminated Cotton Into a Raincoat

It's always good to try something new!  Miss V's birthday is in May, so I wanted to make her something that she'd like, but something I hadn't tried before--voila, a raincoat.

I'd seen Amy Butler's raincoat patterns previously, so wanted to use the kids' one to make a raincoat.  They're sized in 3, 5, 7, and then in straight numbers, so I chose a 7 to give a bit of growing room.

 I found a good deal on laminated cottons at www. fabric.com, and it came on this large roll--bet the person delivering it wondered what I had ordered.  As you can see, the fabric is a bright cotton, girly print that was then laminated.  I also bought a teflon foot for my machine, which was a necessity, for sure.  The lining, which shows only at the neckline here, was a white cotton background with very small multi-colored dots that pretty much matched the colors of the laminated fabric.

Since I hadn't worked with this stuff before, I actually signed up for a class.  Truth be told, I'd missed one offered earlier offered  by one of my American Sewing Guild friends, so I begged her to offer another one so I could do this before V's big day.  She did and another sewing buddy signed up and made a size 3.

Laminated cotton is an interesting fabric to sew as there isn't much (if any) give as you're putting pieces together.  You can't pin into it (so you use hair clippies), you have to use a longer stitch length (for fewer penetrations into the stuff), and you're best off to have a machine where you can use both a teflon foot and the walking foot or built in walking foot motion.  Even with all that, it still is sticky sometimes.  The hardest part was making the belt loops and button loops because they were so narrow.  I have some really light tearaway stabilizer from my embroidery projects, and had to use it to help those little pieces feed through.

One other thing I did before it all got put together was to embroider Miss V's name inside on the lining.  I wanted to make sure if she left it somewhere they could tell who it belonged to.  When she outgrows it and K or E wear it, it still has their last name.

All in all, it was a really fun project!

Kit and Ruthie Have New Pajamas

Kit's jammies aren't really too new, but Ruthie's are hot off the sewing machine.  I had the pants done earlier, but Miss V really, really wanted to have new jammies for Ruthie, so what's a Grandma to do?  Now time to put the three of them to bed.

Shopping trip

I had to go to the dentist this week.  I imagine, like most people, it isn't always the most fun thing to do.  There's a catch here, though.  My dentist happens to be in the same city as one of my favorite website fabric shops, and when I go there I can stop in and shop in person!  Banberry Place (www.banberryplace.com) has terrific fabrics, most of which are from European sources.  The thing that fist drew me to the store was the huge number of knit fabrics that Corie had available.  A couple of years ago it was almost impossible to find any of these types in fabric stores.  I'm glad to say, that a few are available today, but not to the extent that this vendor has.

As you can see, I didn't go away empty handed.  I ended up with a couple of solids to make either shorts or capris for the girls and four prints for shirts or dresses.  I actually bought more for me than the grands this time, which is unusual.  I recently made up Kwik Sew 2900 for myself and really liked it, so plan to do some spring and summer t-shirts.  I bought some cute ribbon, too, to add to either doll clothes or outfits for the girls.

Kit Has a Quilt

I finally got Kit's bed quilt finished.  I took leftover squares from V's big bed quilt and cut them into four smaller squares.  I sewed them into a 7 square by 12 square quilt, then added a border of 1" blue fabric.  The quilting was done with a pink variegated thread by Superior Threads that I used on the bed sized one.  The binding even matches V's bed quilt, and the best part is I get to do it all again because Kit has a trundle bed, and of course I don't want to forget one for Ruthie.   It's a someday project as in someday I'll get to it.  Funny thing, though,  V's kindergarten class is studying the letter Q and she had to find five things that started with Q, so of course we used this picture!

Five Days of Sewing

I really can't believe what you can get done when you just get to sit down and sew!  What a luxury!  Now I can't wait to do it all again next year--or maybe before then if we can get another retreat together.  The creative energy that happens when you get a group of people who love to turn what's in their imagination into reality is really something!

Aunt Maggie came a day and a half early, so the day before we left for the retreat we sat down and had a sew fest.  I quilted all 8 of the placemats I'd pieced at last year's retreat while Maggie created pillowcases.  I'd been cutting out things to take with me, and I embroidered the names on the stocking cuffs so they would be ready to sew.  Never before had I planned out what I was going to do in such detail, and for the most part, it really paid off.  Of course there's always the elastic that was left at home and the ribbing that got cut 90 degrees off that brought some projects to a halt before they were finished. 

We got to the retreat about noon on Thursday, and unloaded (a real chore). I wanted to get pants sewn for the girls, so Miss E got the purple cord (remember, she LOVES both  the word and the color purple) and a deep rose cord for Miss K.  I had also embroidered hearts on denim for back pockets for Miss V.  All that's miss in these now is the hems, and I need to see the girls for those.  I started a heart shirt to match Miss V's denims, but the aforementioned ribbing that was cut wrong brought that to a screeching halt.  Something to finish this week.  I also made of blue stretch pants that aren't pictured because they don't have elastic yet that are from the same pattern I made the girls' mother a long, long time ago!  Yeah for Stretch & Sew.  I learned a lot of good techniques for working with knits from those patterns, and that was pre-serger days.  I'm constructing the top totally on the serger now and it is so much faster--love my cool tools.  The first evening I put binding on five of the eight placemats , but my fingers got tired so I moved on to another project, so three more will be done later.

I also remembered Kit and Ruthie while I was there.  They  get to share both denim and aqua stretch pants which allows them to dress like their Mom. Ruthie  got a new dress, too.  The best thing, though, is the quilt top made from scraps from Miss V's big girl bed quilt that will fit on the trundle bed they share that turned up at Christmas.  There's enough backing fabric from the line to match, and I even have matching binding.  There's an evening of quilting in my near future, and then another to add binding, I'm sure.  I'll have to use the rest for a blanket for the trundle bottom bed.

A few other projects were started--a new set of placemats are being pieced, a sweatshirt for  me that seems a bit big, but I'll probably finish and wear it, and a pair of "surprise" pants I found all cut out, from who knows when, and decided to sew up.  I need to make them shorter, but they will be a nice pair of navy stretch capris when spring finally arrives.  All in all, a very constructive time shared with good friends.  A true retreat in every sense of the word!

Sewing Weekend Here I Come!

While January has never been my favorite month of the year, mostly due to the fact that I HATE to be cold, it holds one distinct pleasure not found in any of the other eleven months--my ASG sewing retreat.  I dream about this retreat all year, because it's just like one big sewing party doing something I love to do so much.  Add good friends who also have the sewing bug to the mix and you get an all time favorite pass time that doesn't involve family.

Getting ready for the retreat can be quite an endeavor!  For those of you who don't know me well, the first task is to clean off the cutting table so I can use it for its intended purpose--cutting out projects.  It took me a full day to get everything I had stacked on it put away so it could be used, but I managed to do it.  Then I started cutting out items.  Since I sew for three small girls as well as myself, I started with some items for them, like pants and shirts, and Christmas stockings.  Yes, I said Christmas stockings.  Misses E & K have the baby ones I made, but they need big kid ones like Miss V, so I went through my Christmas fabric stash and picked out two prints I really like so I could make their stockings.  I cut out five pairs of pants, two tops, and will continue to cut today so that I don't run out of things to do.

Something else you have to do is pack what you think you'll need because you don't get a chance to come home and there isn't a fabric store you can visit at the lake.  Last year I just worked on quilting projects, but this year since I'm sewing clothes I'll need a serger as well as my sewing machine.  As I cut projects, I got the thread, elastic, zippers and any other things I might need to work with.  I also wound at least one bobbin per project so I could just go from one thing to another.  I remembered to pack a variety of needles since I'll be sewing denim, knits, cottons and who knows what else before I'm done.  I have a box with scissors and bobbins and markers and chalk and a brush to clean the machine between projects.  I'll have my bright light and my favorite sewing table and chair, too.  It's like a move, really, but it is so worth it!  Stay tuned to see what I have done when I return.

Pajama Day at School

Miss V's school had a pajama day the last day they had school in December, and it must have made quite an impression on her, but come to think about it, I guess if I had ever gotten to wear my pajamas to school it would have been memorable for me, too.  Between Christmas and New Year's I made pajama pants for both Kit and Ruthie, so when V got here she immediately dressed them in their pajamas and reenacted pajama day at school.  Then, after school, she put them in their karate outfits and reenacted her karate class complete with Ruthie being sent to the office for some offense.  Don't you just love listening to kids!  Art Linkletter was right, they do say the darndest things!